What do you recommend that society does with rapists , murderers, theives etc...give them the keys to your house and car ?? (and wife or daughter??)

I wouldn't recommend that, but it seems to me that Jesus does come close to it when he advocates in the sermon on the mount, that his followers not resist evil and turn the other cheek. As a christian, how do you interpret that teaching?

actually, the reason there are so many in prison/jail/parole/etc, is our appeal system and the fact that the death penalty has been done away with in some states.. criminals can appeal on and on to extend their time till death (if penalty is applied).

i believe that our view of drugs is a little wonk, and that people are thrown in jail for way too little in their actual possession. its funny that our gov allowed all those drugs to come in and now they are the hardest opponents to them. seems like they are over compensating. they just hoot and holler at the druggies so that no one turns around to see that the gov is actually at fault on this. i dont think drugs should be legal, i think they should be de-criminalized. if big daddy gov put a tax on pot (heroine, lsd, and other harder drugs are another story) and controled sales like tobacco, the national debt just might go away.

as far as being free. you are free to do as you please as long as you follow the rules. some people just think that they are free to do what they want how they want when they want. hence criminals.

as far as jesus, im a big j-boy fan - im going to go talk to him tomorrow. but jesus taught to forgive the sinner not the sin. but society has gone way to far to ever call its self a christian society. if leaders that followed paul letters had actually followed his lessons - society would be completely diferent. but man is greedy. and so society is is full of greed (and oh so many other vices).

as far as rob.linux, statements like: "and I do believe the bible DOES know everything", are what make non-christians and some christian cring at whatever we have to say. the bible is not a text book. it is full of parables and anychdotes to help us become better people. plus the bible has been edited so much throughout history, that so much has either been watered down or left out.

i tend to go on with my posts, so i'll stop here.

peace and love
ande

_________________do what nobody else does, and do it better than anyone else can

actually, the reason there are so many in prison/jail/parole/etc, is our appeal system and the fact that the death penalty has been done away with in some states.. criminals can appeal on and on to extend their time till death (if penalty is applied).

! In sum: "we'd have less people in prison if we killed them more quickly". Wow. That's a real misunderstanding of the issue and a sick & twisted one at that. I hope I misunderstand /you/. ;) The vast majority of people in prison aren't facing state murder ("death penalty").

On a side note, Bush set the USA record for most executions by a governor. Surprise, surprise, eh?

That's a tough question....If someone raped my wife during a home invasion and tied me up and beat me and forced me to watch .....

I would have a hard time turning the other cheek...

By the way...In Canada....smoking dope is legal and there is no death penalty...even though the Bible does teach an eye for an eye is just punishment !!

Rob

ewl wrote:

rob.linux wrote:

What do you recommend that society does with rapists , murderers, theives etc...give them the keys to your house and car ?? (and wife or daughter??)

I wouldn't recommend that, but it seems to me that Jesus does come close to it when he advocates in the sermon on the mount, that his followers not resist evil and turn the other cheek. As a christian, how do you interpret that teaching?

By the way...In Canada....smoking doipe is legal and there is no death penalty...even though the Bible does teach an eye for an eye is just punihment !!

The article that Jeff was quoting was about the United States, not Canada. Canada seems to be quite a bit less violent and punitive than the United States. I was very tempted to move there after the 2004 elections. :)

As far as "an eye for an eye" is concerned, that was the context for Jesus' teaching:

Quote:

You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

I'm not personally suggesting that you follow that literally, but it seems to indicate that Jesus wasn't the great punisher that some of his followers have become...

The U.S. prison system is a money making machine ! That's why you'll never see a rush to reform it . much like oil dependency etc ... Prisons are full of first time offenders serving maximum sentences for small offenses , mostly drugs or domestic issues without rehabilitation . Big companies like Kraft foods walla toilet paper and ATT supply services to these prisons , in turn because of a rise in production their stock finds stability and rises with each new inmate .. then good old uncle sam invest in that stock and hence the vicious cycle .. its a monopoly which explains why the US is building a new prison per state each month .. its a cash cow ! If they really cared about the problem wed see a serious decrease in prison population . Much like the ??? trillions of dollars spent on the "drug war" thats only shown failure . UG !

over here in the uk the numbers behind bars are swollen by those on remand in custody awaiting trial. My guess is that if both systems (U & UK) has a quicker process for meting out justice then a lot of those eventually found innocent woul never appear in these numbers in the first place.

over here in the uk the numbers behind bars are swollen by those on remand in custody awaiting trial. My guess is that if both systems (U & UK) has a quicker process for meting out justice then a lot of those eventually found innocent woul never appear in these numbers in the first place.

Justice does not seem to be very swift world wide.

A perfect example of this slow justice is the recent execution of Osama Bin Laden....almost 10 years after the crimes he masterminded and financed with his fortune !!

Of course...the fact that Osama had not gone outside in 5 years may have something to do with that !!

Wow, that is devastating! Prisons are America's alternative to the Welfare State.

Wow, this is really interesting, suppose becoming an architect is certainly something our youngsters should think seriously about. Maybe even start a museum of the most well built and uniquely built prisons! Very interesting Post, thank you!
Jenny

Extremely appalling figures for the "land of the free and the brave." Part of the reason is the policy of incarcerating non-violent offenders such as throwing Dads in prison for getting behind on child support. Something like 80% of Fathers behind or jailed for non payment of child support earn LESS than $20K. In America, we still have debtors prisons.

It's all about the money. The Feds reimburse states for child support collected, jailing Dads, etc. Of course, prisons have become for-profit enterprises too. This is why I disagree with the comment "Prisons are America's alternative to the Welfare State." Prisons help further the welfare state by allowing states to grab federal money to line the state's coffers to fund more social programs.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum